How much water does the average person use at home per day?

Estimates vary, but each person uses about 80-100 gallons of water per day. Are you surprised that the largest use of household water is to flush the toilet, and after that, to take showers and baths? That is why, in these days of water conservation, we are starting to see toilets and showers that use less water than before.

Many local governments now have laws that specify that water faucets, toilets, and showers only allow a certain amount of water flow per minute. Water agencies in some areas, such as here in Atlanta, Georgia, offer rebates if you install a water-efficient toilet. In fact, I just put in two new toilets and received a rebate of $100 for each. Yes, they really do use a lot less water. For your kitchen and bathroom faucets, if you look real close at the head of a faucet, you might see something like “1.0 gpm”, which means that the faucet head will allow water to flow at a maximum of 1.0 gallons per minute.

Typical water use at home

Bath

A full tub is about 36 gallons.

Shower

2 gallons per minute. Old shower heads use as much as 5 gallons per minute.

Teeth brushing

<1 gallon, especially if water is turned off while brushing. Newer bath faucets use about 1 gallon per minute, whereas older models use over 2 gallons.

The Importance of Water Treatment in the Home

The benefits of home water treatment come in many forms. Whether you’re a mom bringing your new bundle of joy home, or a family looking for solutions to hard water, home water filtration systems from RainSoft offer your family the perfect solution to any home water concern. And with water conditioning and softening systems from RainSoft, you get the benefit of quality products, most with a limited lifetime warranty, which require little maintenance and are energy efficient.

While most communities’ water supplies meet EPA Primary Drinking Water Standards, from source to your tap, water can still pick up impurities and contaminants not controlled by your city’s water supplier. Unwanted chemicals, minerals and other pollutants can accumulate as water travels your pipes, leaving you with odors and bad tastes. Identifying these problems can sometimes be easy; noticeable odor, visible particles, metallic or other bad tastes certainly are causes for concern. But other times the problems are not so readily apparent.

The solution to these concerns? Simple: RainSoft. With dedicated laboratory, manufacturing, research and development facilities and thorough third party testing, we strive to produce premium home water filtration systems that are dependable and reliable. From better tasting drinking water, cleaner washing and cooking water and softer, more refreshing bathing water, the advantages of installing RainSoft home water filtration systems can be seen in almost every room in the house.

Only 3% of Earth’s water is fresh water. 97% of the water on Earth is salt water.

The water found at the Earth’s surface in lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, and swamps makes up only 0.3% of the world’s fresh water.

68.7% of the fresh water on Earth is trapped in glaciers.

30% of fresh water is in the ground.

1.7% of the world’s water is frozen and therefore unusable.

Water covers 70.9% of the Earth’s surface.

Water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid including sulfuric acid.

More than 25% of bottled water comes from a municipal water supply, the same place that tap water comes from.[i]

A ten meter rise in sea levels due to melting glaciers would flood 25% of the population of the United States.

There is more fresh water in the atmosphere than in all of the rivers on the planet combined.

If all of the water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere fell at once, distributed evenly, it would only cover the earth with about an inch of water.

Water boils quicker in Denver, Colorado than in New York City.

Approximately 400 billion gallons of water are used in the United States per day.

Nearly one-half of the water used by Americans is used for thermoelectric power generation.

In one year, the average American residence uses over 100,000 gallons (indoors and outside).

It takes six and a half years for the average American residence to use the amount of water required to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool (660,000 gallons).

It takes seven and a half years for the average American residence to use the same amount of water that flows over the Niagara Falls in one second (750,000 gallons).

American residents use about 100 gallons of water per day.

Americans use more water each day by flushing the toilet than they do by showering or any other activity.[ii]

In 1900, 25,000 American’s died of typhoid. By 1960, thanks to the use of chlorine in water treatment, that number dropped to 20.[iii]

At 50 gallons per day, residential Europeans use about half of the water that residential Americans use.[iv]

Residents of sub-Saharan Africa use only 2-5 gallons of water per day.[v]

The average faucet flows at a rate of 2 gallons per minute. You can save up to four gallons of water every morning by turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth.

Taking a bath requires up to 70 gallons of water. A five-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons.

A running toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water per day.

The New York City water supply system leaks 36 million gallons per day.[vi]

If you drink your daily recommended 8 glasses of water per day from the tap, it will cost you about 50 cents per year. If you choose to drink it from water bottles, it can cost you up to $1,400 dollars.[vii]

There are approximately one million miles of water pipeline and aqueducts in the United States and Canada, enough to circle Earth 40 times.[viii]

The first water pipes in the US were made from wood (bored logs that were charred with fire).

The first municipal water filtration works opened in Paisley, Scotland in 1832

A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds.

A cubic foot of water weighs 62.4 pounds

An inch of water covering one acre (27,154 gallons) weighs 113 tons.

Water vaporizes at 212 degrees F, 100 degrees C.

It takes more water to manufacture a new car (39,090 gallons) than to fill an above ground swimming pool.

It takes more than ten gallons of water to produce one slice of bread.[ix]

Over 713 gallons of water go into the production of one cotton T-shirt.[x]

Super Waters: Health or Hype?

Will these new waters actually get us to drink up?

These days, bottled water is not necessarily simple H2O. Store shelves and vending machines are filled with plain and so-called “fitness waters,” chock full of vitamins, minerals, and herbal potions. Some super waters not only come with nutrient additions but contain soluble fiber, fruit essence, caffeine, and believe it or not, oxygen.

Drink Up

Everyone has heard the age-old advice to drink eight to ten glasses of water a day. More of us need to heed this sage advice to keep our bodies well hydrated and our energy level up. The problem is, we get bored with large volumes of plain water. Enter the age of fitness waters. Savvy marketers have picked up on the need for low-calorie beverages and have developed fitness waters to help us meet our fluid requirements. The real question is, are fitness waters any better than plain water? And the simple answer is, only if they help you drink up. Otherwise, plain water is just fine.

Most of the fitness waters are low in calories and pose little threat to the daily caloric intake or eating plan. If you enjoy drinking them and they help you meet your fluid needs, enjoy one or two per day. For best selection, read the label or check out the following chart of the most popular fitness waters on the market:

Fitness Waters

Product Name

Calories/8 ounce serving

Comments

Aquafina Essentials

40

4 flavors

Dasani NutriWater

20

4 flavors

e20 Energy Water

10 or 40

Elements Enhanced Water

40

4 flavors

Enhance

35-40

6 flavors

Fruit20 Plus

0

3 flavors

glaceau vitaminwater

50

14 flavors

Propel Fitness Water

10

6 flavors

Pulse

9-18

3 formulas, 8 flavors

Reebok Fitness Water

0 or 10

4 flavors, 1 natural

VitaRain

70

6 flavors

Coffee, Tea, or Fitness Water?

You can satisfy approximately half of your fluid requirements with beverages other than water, such as low-fat milk, coffee, caffeine-free tea, 100% juice, sports drinks, or sparkling water. Not only can drinking these beverages satisfy your fluid needs, so can water-rich foods and fluids such as soup, fruits, and vegetables. The additional benefit of eating water-rich foods is all the fiber, vitamins, and minerals they provide, which will not only quench thirst but also keep you feeling full. Consider these dieters’ dream foods!

Foods that melt at room temperature, such as gelatin, frozen yogurt, or low-calorie frozen novelty bars, contain plenty of fluids.

Broth-based vegetable soup is a winning combination, low in calories, chock full of nutrients, and very filling.

Fruits and vegetables can contribute up to 3-4 cups of fluid to your diet. Choose produce with high fluid content such as grapes, watermelon, grapefruit, orange, squash, broccoli, or eggplant.

Oh, you want to be kind to your wallet and get your fluids the good old-fashioned way, with plain drinking water? You can always consider these options to help you jazz up plain water and meet your fluid needs:

Create your own flavored water with the addition of fruit slices such as lemon, lime, or orange. They will all add great flavor with virtually no added calories.

Freeze chunks of fruit or citrus zest in ice cubes that you then use to flavor plain water.

A splash of cranberry or fruit juice and a wedge of lime to turn plain sparkling water into a delicious treat.

Make iced tea from a combination of flavorful teas such as mint, mango, or cherry.

Herbal teas are soothing and come in a variety of flavors without extra calories.

Bottled water quality without the bottle. You’ll enjoy deliciously fresh drinking water all the time with one of our reverse osmosis systems. And with RainSoft drinking water purification systems, there are no heavy bottles to lug or deliveries to schedule. Just turn on the faucet and enjoy. You’ll also be doing the environment a favor!

Coffee, tea, ice, soups, juices…you name it! Anything made with water from RainSoft home water filtration systems will taste noticeably better. So will your prepared foods. After all, water is the number one ingredient in your kitchen. You’ll taste the difference every time you use water from your RainSoft drinking water system.

Home Water Treatment

With two premium drinking water systems, RainSoft water treatment delivers a higher quality and better tasting drinking water experience. Not only will the water from a RainSoft drinking water system in your glass taste distinctly better, but so will all of the food and beverages you make with it.

Ultrefiner reverse osmosis water systems are RainSoft’s premier drinking water system. Using advanced RO technology, the Ultrefiner provides highly polished drinking water that filters out smaller particles that can be missed by less refined drinking water systems.

For out-of-the-way convenience, Hydrefiner drinking water systems deliver a continuous supply of clean, fresh water from right under your sink. Utilizing a compressed carbon-block filter, the Hydrefiner eliminates bad tastes and odors from home drinking water.

Indoor Air and Your Health

Health effects from indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later.

Immediate effects may show up after a single exposure or repeated exposures. These include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Such immediate effects are usually short-term and treatable. Sometimes the treatment is simply eliminating the person’s exposure to the source of the pollution, if it can be identified. Symptoms of some diseases, including asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and humidifier fever, may also show up soon after exposure to some indoor air pollutants.

The likelihood of immediate reactions to indoor air pollutants depends on several factors. Age and preexisting medical conditions are two important influences. In other cases, whether a person reacts to a pollutant depends on individual sensitivity, which varies tremendously from person to person. Some people can become sensitized to biological pollutants after repeated exposures, and it appears that some people can become sensitized to chemical pollutants as well.

Certain immediate effects are similar to those from colds or other viral diseases, so it is often difficult to determine if the symptoms are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution. For this reason, it is important to pay attention to the time and place the symptoms occur. If the symptoms fade or go away when a person is away from the home and return when the person returns, an effort should be made to identify indoor air sources that may be possible causes. Some effects may be made worse by an inadequate supply of outdoor air or from the heating, cooling, or humidity conditions prevalent in the home.

Other health effects may show up either years after exposure has occurred or only after long or repeated periods of exposure. These effects, which include some respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer, can be severely debilitating or fatal. It is prudent to try to improve the indoor air quality in your home even if symptoms are not noticeable. More information on potential health effects from particular indoor air pollutants is provided in the section, “A Look at Source-Specific Controls.”

While pollutants commonly found in indoor air are responsible for many harmful effects, there is considerable uncertainty about what concentrations or periods of exposure are necessary to produce specific health problems. People also react very differently to exposure to indoor air pollutants. Further research is needed to better understand which health effects occur after exposure to the average pollutant concentrations found in homes and which occur from the higher concentrations that occur for short periods of time.

RainSoft Air Purification

RainSoft air purification systems treat the entire home, not just one room. Our systems mount directly into the ductwork of your home, providing cleaner, fresher air throughout the entire house. With advanced UV light and ozone lamp technology, the AirMaster Ultra system eliminates airborne contaminants in your home.

Summer is peak dehydration season, so now is a good time to make sure your kids are drinking enough water. Besides the familiar problems of irritability and heat exhaustion, dehydration can lead to the formation of kidney stones, even in children.

Summer is peak dehydration season, so now is a good time to make sure your kids are drinking enough water. Besides the familiar problems of irritability and heat exhaustion, dehydration can lead to the formation of kidney stones, even in children

“Kidney stones are salt deposits that form in the urinary tract when urine concentration is off balance, which in kids is usually due to dehydration,” says Hyun. In the last few decades, it has become increasingly common for kids to be diagnosed with kidney stones.

A body’s normal hydration can be disrupted in three ways. “The most common ways are the intake of too little liquid or too much salt,” says Hyun. “A minority of patients are born with a faulty mechanism for maintaining correct salt levels.”

The kidney stone is made of a combination of the minerals normally found in the blood. Despite the presence of calcium, drinking milk is not a primary factor that leads to kidney stones.

When kids develop urological problems, whether urinary incontinence or kidney stones, the underlying cause is almost always that they aren’t drinking enough water. “It can be hard to get kids to drink water — so often they say, ‘Water doesn’t taste good,’?” says Hyun. “I know it’s a challenge for parents, so I recommend drinking water with every meal and not keeping any other beverages in the refrigerator.” To prevent urological problems, Hyun recommends drinking four to five glasses of water a day, which should lead to urination every two and a half to three hours.

Some children form kidney stones due to an underlying cause they were born with. “If the stones are due to an inborn metabolic disorder, they could drink all the water in the world and still have kidney stones,” says Hyun. “In these cases kids need to receive medical treatment.”

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Kidney stones present themselves in the same way in children and adults. “The symptoms can be quite acute: flank pain, nausea, vomiting and sometimes blood in the urine,” says Hyun. “The classic kidney stone pain is a renal-colic pain that starts in the flank and radiates around to the lower abdomen — you can’t get into a comfortable position and it is very painful.” Usually doctors use ultrasound or a noncontrast CT scan for diagnosis.

It’s not the kidney stones themselves that cause pain. “It’s when the stone suddenly blocks the ureter or flow of urine, which causes a backup of pressure that patients feel real pain,” says Hyun. “It’s tougher to diagnose kidney stones in those kids who have vague abdominal pain — because lots of healthy kids have a nonspecific pain.”

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Get Informed. Start with the American Urological Association (www.urologyhealth.org) for user-friendly search engines and a toll-free hotline: 1-800-828-7866.

Eat Less Salt.“There’s a lot more salt in processed foods than in a home-cooked meal,” says Hyun, “Poorer diets and the obesity epidemic probably play a role in the increase we’re seeing in pediatric kidney stones.”

Drink Enough Water.“WATER, WATER, WATER, AND IF YOU DRINK A GLASS OF ANOTHER LIQUID, THAT DOESN’T COUNT,” SAYS HYUN, “4-5 GLASSES OF WATER A DAY IS AN ACHIEVABLE GOAL.”Recognize Dehydration. The rule of thumb for maintaining urological health is that everyone–men, women, and kids–should urinate every 2.5-3 hours. “Urine that’s bright yellow, dark, or has a strong odor is a sign of dehydration,” says Hyun.

Grace Hyun Grace Hyun is a pediatric urologist who treats children for problems ranging from congenital disorders to kidney stones. An assistant professor of urology and pediatrics, she performs over 300 surgeries a year.

The RainSoft Water Difference

RainSoft drinking water systems are a simple, cost-effective solution to providing cleaner, better tasting water right from the tap. And don’t forget environmentally friendly! With home water filtration systems from RainSoft, you can get bottled-water quality water, without the bottle. Our premium drinking water systems include:

High school football: Heat, drought put emphasis on hydration

Mark Ambrogi | indystar.com Jul. 29, 2012

Park Tudor School junior football player Chris Elbrecht never wants to experience an ice bath again.

“I was shivering like crazy,” Elbrecht said. “It was one of the worst things.”

Yet it was likely an experience he couldn’t live without. That ice bath followed a serious dehydration incident during a game last season and might have saved his life, said his father, Chris Elbrecht Sr.

With a majority of high school sports practices beginning today, Elbrecht’s story serves as a reminder of how important hydration and the relatively cheap and easy precaution of having access to an ice bath at practices and games are with temperatures expected above 90 degrees throughout the next week.

Near the end of the first half of Park Tudor’s opener on a warm evening last August, Elbrecht crumbled to his knees on the sideline. He was playing receiver and defensive back, and on punt and kickoff returns. Elbrecht had come off the field feeling lightheaded and thought he was just dehydrated.

But it was far more serious than he originally thought.

“My body temperature was getting really high and going up quickly,” Elbrecht said. “Everybody reacted quickly. They knew they had to cool me down quick.”

After seeing an article in The Indianapolis Star two weeks earlier, then-coach Scott Fischer had consulted with athletic trainer Betsy Bradley about having ice baths available on the sideline. The school bought two kiddie pools for the ice. When Bradley diagnosed Elbrecht with heat exhaustion, she insisted hebe put in an ice bath instead of rushing him to a hospital.

The first 5 to 10 minutes are crucial in determining whether someone survives heat stroke brought on by exertion, making the kiddie pool a better option than an ambulance.

Thirty football players have died due to heat-related injuries the past 10 years, including five high school athletes last year, according to a study by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina. That’s an increase over 22 the previous 10 years despite the fact that these athletes could almost certainly be saved for $25: the cost of a kiddie pool and some ice.

Park Tudor was running low on ice — the athletic department staff didn’t realize a 700-person tailgate before the game depleted the campus’ supply, something athletic director Brad Lennon said would not happen again — so police officers went to a nearby gas station convenience store. Elbrecht, who lives in Cicero, went into hyperthermia after the ice bath “but once I got my body temperature up, I started feeling better,” he said.

Despite the life-threatening incident, Elbrecht’s treatment allowed him to return to practice a few days later and he played in the next game.

“I’ve learned you can’t just drink when you’re thirsty, you have to hydrate all through week,” Elbrecht said.

NEW YORK, July 24, 2012 – /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Harvard University researchers’ review of fluoride/brain studies concludes “our results support the possibility of adverse effects of fluoride exposures on children’s neurodevelopment.” It was published online July 20 inEnvironmental Health Perspectives, a US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ journal (1), reports the NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. (NYSCOF)

“The children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ than those who lived in low fluoride areas,” write Choi et al.

Water was the only fluoride source in the studies reviewed and was based on high water fluoride levels. However, they point out research by Ding (2011) suggested that low water fluoride levels had significant negative associations with children’s intelligence.

Choi et al. write, “Although fluoride may cause neurotoxicity in animal models and acute fluoride poisoning causes neurotoxicity in adults, very little is known of its effects on children’s neurodevelopment. They recommend more brain/fluoride research on children and at individual-level doses.

“It’s senseless to keep subjecting our children to this ongoing fluoridation experiment to satisfy the political agenda of special-interest groups,” says attorney Paul Beeber, NYSCOF President. “Even if fluoridation reduced cavities, is tooth health more important than brain health? It’s time to put politics aside and stop artificial fluoridation everywhere,” says Beeber.

After reviewing fluoride toxicological data, the NRC reported in 2006, “It’s apparent that fluorides have the ability to interfere with the functions of the brain.”

Choi’s team writes, “Fluoride readily crosses the placenta. Fluoride exposure to the developing brain, which is much more susceptible to injury caused by toxicants than is the mature brain, may possibly lead to damage of a permanent nature.”

Fluoride accumulates in the body. Even low doses are harmful to babies, the thyroid, kidney patients and heavy water-drinkers. There are even doubts about fluoridation’s effectiveness (2). New York City Legislation is pending to stop fluoridation. Many communities have already stopped.

Infant formula when mixed with fluoridated water delivers 100-200 times more fluoride than breastmilk.(3)

Home Water Filters and Problem Solving

It’s important for home water filtration systems to remove minerals that cause hard water and other impurities from drinking water. Homes with sodium, ferrous iron, nitrates, lead, fluoride or organic contaminants often benefit from reverse osmosis water systems, which provide premium water fit for a wonderful cup of coffee or for cooking a fine meal.

These drinking water systems filter water multiple times to ensure your good water is even better. Reverse osmosis systems differ from regular faucet-mounted systems because RO is a much more advanced method for providing pure, premium water to a dedicated faucet. Find out if sodium, ferrous iron or other organic contaminants are affecting your water’s quality with a free drinking water analysis from RainSoft.

7 Surprising Health Effects of Drought

With more than half the U.S. currently in drought, concerns have mounted over the consequences of the arid climate on the country’s crop yields. But droughts have far reaching effects beyond the farm, including many effects on human health, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Here are seven potential health concerns that occur with drought:

Bad air

Droughts can reduce air quality and compromise the health of people with certain conditions, according to the CDC. During a drought, dry soils and wildfires increase the amount of airborne particles, such as pollen and smoke.

These particles can irritate the airways and worsen chronic respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, the CDC says. Poor air quality can also increase the risk of respiratory infections, such as bacterial pneumonia.

Valley fever

Drought increases the risk of people catching the fungal infection coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever, the CDC says. The disease is transmitted when spores in the soil become airborne and are inhaled. The condition causes a range of symptoms, including fever, chest pain, coughing, rash, and muscle aches, the CDC says.

The condition is more common among people living in the Southwest than other parts of the U.S., but it is relatively rare — one study reported that 0.04 percent of people in Maricopa County, Ariz., were infected in one year.

Germy hands

In a drought, people may feel the need to reduce hand washing and other hygiene practices to conserve water, the CDC says. This may increase the spread of infectious diseases, such as acute respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.

“Conservation efforts should not hinder proper sanitation and hygiene,” the CDC says. People can install low-flow faucet aerators to reduce water use while still maintaining proper hygiene, the agency says.

Mental health effects

Those whose livelihood is directly tied to the water supply — including farmers, horticulturalists and nursery owners — may suffer adverse mental health effects during a drought, according to the CDC.

“Financial-related stress and worry can cause depression, anxiety, and a host of other mental and behavioral health conditions,” the CDC says. Studies have found an increased rate of suicide among people living in farming areas during droughts, the agency says.

Unhealthy eating

Reduced rainfall can limit the growing season for farmers, and further reduce crop yields by creating ideal conditions for insect infestations that damage crops. This can bring increases in food prices, or shortages of certain foods, potentially leading to malnutrition, the CDC says. Read the complete article at myhealthnewsdaily.com

RainSoft Air and Water Conditioning Products

RainSoft air purification systems treat the entire home, not just one room. Our systems mount directly into the ductwork of your home, providing cleaner, fresher air throughout the entire house. With advanced UV light and ozone lamp technology, the AirMaster Ultra system eliminates airborne contaminants in your home.

“Over the years there has been an increase in the hardness of the water, especially around springtime (May)—this year, there is a very noticeable difference in the water quality over the last six weeks where even the use of a water softener is unable to overcome the greatly increased hardness,” Warren resident Alice Lin Yang said in an email.

She said she contacted New Jersey American Water in late-May to check a sample of the water, and was told the hardness level of 380mg per liter of calcium carbonate (the primary cause of water hardness) is within state and federal guidelines for safe drinking water—but is a “concern.” Lin Yang said the recommended level of calcium carbonate is 250mg per liter.

New Jersey American Water spokesman Richard Barnes said water hardness is considered an “esthetics” issue, but Lin Yang notes the many problems it’s causing Warren residents.

“The hardness has been effecting the dishwashers and faucets causing a chalky residue that is difficult to remove; it has caused itchy rashes of the face and body in others,” she said, adding some have told her they replaced dishwashers because they thought something was wrong with the machine.

Lin Yang, a doctor, also said she and others she knows have been having issues with skin rashes that appeared at about the same time this spring.

“The onset of the rashes coincide with the appearance of the white residue from the water,” she said.

Barnes said the company generally draws water from surfaces sources, but when temperatures rise and demand increases, the company will supplement the water supplies by drawing on wells, which typically have higher mineral content.

“When demand is not as high, we’re able to draw from our surface sources,” Barnes said, reducing the calcium carbonate in the water.

He added residents who have water softeners in their homes should check the settings to make sure they are set for a water hardness between 350mg per liter and 400mg per liter. “That’s really the best thing to do,” he said.

To find out more about what you can do about hard water contact your RainSoft dealer.

RainSoft Air and Water Conditioning Products

RainSoft water conditioning and drinking water systems are designed to meet a variety of water quality challenges, providing you with effective, affordable water conditioning solutions for achieving the best possible water quality for your home.

“Over the years there has been an increase in the hardness of the water, especially around springtime (May)—this year, there is a very noticeable difference in the water quality over the last six weeks where even the use of a water softener is unable to overcome the greatly increased hardness,” Warren resident Alice Lin Yang said in an email.

She said she contacted New Jersey American Water in late-May to check a sample of the water, and was told the hardness level of 380mg per liter of calcium carbonate (the primary cause of water hardness) is within state and federal guidelines for safe drinking water—but is a “concern.” Lin Yang said the recommended level of calcium carbonate is 250mg per liter.

New Jersey American Water spokesman Richard Barnes said water hardness is considered an “esthetics” issue, but Lin Yang notes the many problems it’s causing Warren residents.

“The hardness has been effecting the dishwashers and faucets causing a chalky residue that is difficult to remove; it has caused itchy rashes of the face and body in others,” she said, adding some have told her they replaced dishwashers because they thought something was wrong with the machine.

Lin Yang, a doctor, also said she and others she knows have been having issues with skin rashes that appeared at about the same time this spring.

“The onset of the rashes coincide with the appearance of the white residue from the water,” she said.

Barnes said the company generally draws water from surfaces sources, but when temperatures rise and demand increases, the company will supplement the water supplies by drawing on wells, which typically have higher mineral content.

“When demand is not as high, we’re able to draw from our surface sources,” Barnes said, reducing the calcium carbonate in the water.

He added residents who have water softeners in their homes should check the settings to make sure they are set for a water hardness between 350mg per liter and 400mg per liter. “That’s really the best thing to do,” he said.

To find out more about what you can do about hard water contact your RainSoft dealer.

RainSoft Air and Water Conditioning Products

RainSoft water conditioning and drinking water systems are designed to meet a variety of water quality challenges, providing you with effective, affordable water conditioning solutions for achieving the best possible water quality for your home.